Yeah, things are progressing. The move is moving forward. It’s looking like about six weeks or so of this posting that we will be back.
The web-store will be back when we are able to produce. There may be a delay in between when you order and when we ship, but no more than a week as we sort the production and shipping in the new location.
This has been one of the wildest journeys so far. The potential here is going to be next level for the entire team.
I have been working on getting the framework done for the new features I want for the website and fixing some of the dumb stuff I had as place holders. Still not done, but happy with some of the progress.
What I received in feed back from customers was navigation on the store, difficulty finding product and such. So my solution is to put multiple paths to find what you are looking for. At the top of the page are categories based on what you have. Not completely finished with them at this point. What I intend is a bit of information, history and links in each and everyone of those by make and year model.
I will also be working on updating and adding new product. So far I’m pretty happy with the new Theme Plugin from www.woothemes.com . Those guys have been more than helpful getting me going after my crash.
Soon we will have some project updates too. We currently have three full on turn-key projects. The 53 GMC is painted. Thank you Cam at Fury in Color! Rick’s 40 Plymouth is making progress, and we took possession of Bob’s 1964 Ford pickup. Look for pictures of that one soon, it’s really eye catching (in a good way!)
One of the reasons for doing the redesign is for you the customer to navigate and find products easier.
The other is to add in a new forum that will go live in the next few days (I hope) where you and I can engage in a more technical sense. I get asked to help people sort their suspension issues on all sorts of vehicles.
I am working to put together a searchable forum where we can get in-depth with the true geometry of what makes your IFS work and why. This will be a subscription service, Sorry folks but more and more of my time is being taken up by answering questions. For those of you who are customers, you will get access to the forums, but for those of you on the fence, the fee will be minimal. In that forthcoming forum, we can get in-depth to get your ride working the way you want it to.
Eventually, I would like to expand the forum to be an offsite, 3rd party tech line for any aftermarket hot rod parts manufacturer. If you would like to participate in some way, PDF files of instruction sheets of kits you have installed would be helpful in growing to that goal.
As always, I appreciate some input.
In my last post, covered the Chrysler style screw in ball joints commonly used on Mustang II front ends. Today I want to talk about the Dakota ball joints and some misconceptions being run around the internet. There are a few generations of Dodge Dakotas now, I concentrate on the first two, being 87-90 and 91-96. Both are pretty much the same, the ball joints are exactly the same.
I have run across a few people trying to conflate the 97 up (3rd Gen) Dakota ball joint issues with the earlier First and Second generation trucks. In the 3rd Generation Dodge made quite a few changes to the Dakota’s front suspension. Almost a complete redesign. About the only thing similar is the lower control arm spacing and bushing size (yes, they will fit our kits) and the upper control arm rear mounting bolt is in the same location. But that’s it. The rack mounting and angles are very different and the upper control arm became symmetrical for cost cutting reasons. The other major changes are in the spindle and ball joints. They bare no resemblance to the 1st and 2nd gen trucks. The ball joints became significantly smaller and the orientation of the lower ball joint changed from tension (pointing up) to compression (pointing down) making dropped spindles pretty much impossible.
Have a look at the line up of ball joints here. From Left to right, the 1997 and up Dakota/Durango ball joint, The K772 Ball joint used in most Mustang II type set ups, The K778 joint used in the 87-96 Dakotas (and many other full size cars and trucks) and then on the Right is the K7025 used on the Dakotas and several other full size cars and trucks. Visual confirmation would show you, this is robust stuff. History can confirm that these larger ball joints were not failure prone. Sure, everything wears out, this is why we recommend using premium quality repair parts when building your car or truck. Not only will you see a longer service life, you will get a better ride quality with parts like the MOOG joints and bushings we suggest.
I suppose shocks would be the next topic, stay tuned!
I have a page dedicated to customers that have used our product. HERE
If you would like me to add you to the list, send me some pictures and a description of your build. Anything from K-member legs, brake kits or full chassis builds are welcome.
As promised earlier, we have the 57-60 F100 and 55-59 GM truck Dakota IFS kits available in the store. These are for the stock arm Dakota suspension systems. If you want air bag systems, any of the kits that would fit any of the Dakota two wheel drive systems should work in our kit. However, we are getting hit pretty hard to do a dedicated IFS kit with tubular control arms and air bags. So we are going to do our best to get them drawn up and in production before Christmas!
Also in the works are engine mounts for the Dakota IFS kits. I think we have the Chevy engine mount systems ready to go and will be in the store in a few weeks. The Ford Windsor style mounts are still in need of some work to make them what we want. And if we can, the LIMA series (429-460) engine mounts also. These of course are going to require a rear sump oil pan to clear the rack and pinion like any other IFS kit on the market.
Keep an eye peeled for our new line of rear suspension kits too! There will be three kits ranging from near stock to work with your nearly stock Dakota IFS and a lowered kit as well as a hammered kit with a 5 plus inch C-notch built into the boxing system. These kits will be an un-parallel and unequal length four bar with a panhard rod. A moderately low roll center that works with pickups and all come with 100% anti-squat at ride height and minimal changes in pinion angle to curb any driveline vibration. Heavy duty construction with greasable polyurethane bushings and RideTECH shocks.
We are also working on the ’32 Ford chassis components, The front and rear bolt in crossmembers should be in production by mid-January. We are also considering a full bolt in X-member similar to our ’32 system for the 33-34 Ford frames. Let us know in the comment section what you think and what you would like to see in that kit.
Been working on the design for the newest kit to our line. The 1955-1959 GM Truck Dakota kit. We will have this ready by the end of September in two forms. Our standard kit that accepts the stock ’87-’96 Dodge Dakota componentry and this will be our first venture into a tube control arm and coil over front end! Yes, you read that right we are going to offer tube control arms very soon. I have been working on the design and the fixturing to get these to a reasonable cost. So look for an official release of the newest kits very soon.
We have also been working on engine mounts and bolt on anti-roll bar mounts. I have some almost ready to go for Ford and Chevy engines in the 35-56 F100 kits. I need to check fitment on the others before we release them.
I do my best to keep up with information on all of our products. I was recently informed that the earlier 1973-1982 Dodge D series rotors for the 3000 pound front axle take a different bearing and are not compatible with the Dakota spindles. I made a quick note on the D-series caliper bracket selection about this change and will soon update all of the information to reflect the correct interchanges.
This morning however, was a question about springs for the Dakota IFS kits with 302 Fords. This is a work in progress and as I gather more information about the spring selections I will add it to the list to help you guys get the most out of your front end. This new information about the spring selection is in the Dakota Tech section.
What a show. The heat had to be a factor in the low turn out. That and the guys that go in first roped off over 90% of the spaces, leaving many swappers to turn around and go home. I spoke to two guys that demanded their $70.00 back because there were no available spaces. Even on Saturday a large percentage of the “saved” spaces were still empty with yellow tape and cones and maybe a lawn chair and a small pile of scrap metal to guard the space. I cannot see this happening for much longer before they the LA Roadster guys start having to do assigned spaces or at least check that the guys that paid for one spot only have one spot and so forth.
We set up with Hotrod Ron and had a good selection of stuff. The reception to our new fully bolt together ’32 frame was encouraging. The SBC engine saddle was the hit of the show! Now I’m going to have to put them into the store. Look for those items in the near future, but if you’re impatient you can always give me a call.
We talked with several satisfied customers and even saw Tim Thompson and his wonderful ’32 3W with the first mail ordered Full-X member installed. Of course Dr Marvelus and I had to take the opportunity for a shot of us all together. 
It’s summer time and we are still at it. More new products are on the way.
Next weekend is one of the coolest show/swaps in the country, held in Pomona California for Fathers day weekend. I have been attending this show since the 70’s as a kid and now as a vendor in the swap meet. We will be bringing out our Full-X members, Brake pedal assemblies, wish bone mounts and other goodies as well as some great stuff to swap. Stop on by, we will be in the swap area.
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